As you may have noticed, one of my obsessions is how car culture has so deeply saturated American popular culture that most people don't even notice they're drowning in it. (I suppose that's what "culture" means — the unquestioning acceptance of stuff because "it's always been that way.") After all, no American alive can recall the days when our cities were not choked by cars, so it's completely natural to not think about how we could all be living different, better, car-free lives.
But if we're ever going to get there, it starts with pop culture. So recently, I asked some friends to help me create an epic Spotify playlist of great car songs — not the usual muscle car, freedom-of-the-open-road bullshit that has filled our airwaves and iPods for 75 years, but songs about the negative impact of cars in our society, our land use, our social lives, or our health.
My friends failed me dismally (here's the playlist)!
Other than Arcade Fire (which has a great song, "No Cars Go" and also put out an entire album about the deleterious affect of cars called, "The Suburbs"), there are very few artists who've addressed the issue head on. Courtney Barnett has a great song ("Dead Fox"), and my entry for the playlist, the Pretenders' "My City Was Gone," also subtly evokes what happens when planners let car drivers eliminate walkability, but even songs that seem to be about the bad side of car culture (like Gary Numan's famous "Cars") aren't.
Obviously, Streetsblog's house band, Jimmy and the Jaywalkers, has lots of songs about cars and drivers — "Criminal Mischief," "The Dick in the Car," "We Were Desperate," "Whenever I Feel Like Dying (Pitkin Avenue)," "There are No Accidents," "Hey There (Who's The Asshole)" and "Where Do My Neighbors Live," among them — but I was really trying to find real bands (or at least bands with real singers).
Fortunately, the Google machine revealed a few other artists out there who share the Jaywalkers' hostilities towards auto-normativity:
- Check out Sammy Rice's playlist of car songs here, which includes his classic, "Tho I Live in LA."
- There's also "The Cars" from John and Tom.
- Friend of Streetsblog Laurence Beckhardt sent over Jelly Roll Morton's "Sidewalk Blues" (but there's no lyrics there beyond the cay-u-ga of an old-style car horn).
- And don't miss The Secret Identities' "Kill My Car" (which you can buy for a $1 here). Full disclosure, I love "Kill My Car," which includes the line, "I’d rather kill my car than go to war.
But there must be more anti-car artists out there. Know any? Share them here.
In other news from a slow day:
- Win-win: Park Row will remain closed to cars, but there will be pedestrian improvements as the NYPD will give up some space it seized for parking. (NYDN)
- Mayor Adams consistently claimed in his Tucker Carlson interview that he was indicted because he criticized former President Biden's immigration policy. Um, no, said federal prosecutors on Wednesday. (NY Times)
- Speaking of that outrageous interview, Hell Gate had a hot take.
- Disability groups don't like the city's Accessible Dispatch taxi program. (Gothamist)
- And, finally, we really need to get those e-bikes off the sidewalk (click for video ... it's worth it):
